Bundesliga club chief warns Boehly and Chelsea will ‘bitterly regret’ Tuchel sack, as Potter written off

Todd Boehly, August 2022

Chelsea will “bitterly regret” their decision to sack Thomas Tuchel and the move shows the new owners have “no idea about football”, one club chief claims.

The Blues removed former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain from his Stamford Bridge post on Wednesday. Tuchel had earned three wins from his first seven games this term, but three defeats was enough to tip him over the edge.

And Tuesday’s Champions League loss to Dinamo Zagreb proved his undoing.

Reports in the aftermath of Tuchel’s sacking talked of tension between the manager and Todd Boehly, the leader of Chelsea’s new consortium of owners.

The third defeat in seven therefore proved to Boehly that the German was not the right man to lead his club forward.

According to Mainz’s sporting director, though, Chelsea made a poor decision. Christian Heidel added in a warning to Tuchel’s successor Graham Potter, that the Blues will struggle to find as good a coach as him quickly.

“The sacking is grist to the mill of those who are against investors in football,” Heidel told German newspaper Bild. “It was purely an investor’s decision.

“Someone who has no idea about football probably thought that sixth place wasn’t good enough for him and said: ‘Then let’s try another coach’.

“After only six games, I can’t think of any other reason. But Chelsea will bitterly regret this decision – they won’t get such a good coach again so quickly.”

Chelsea think Potter is the man who can lead them back to success in the Premier League and Europe. Indeed, they have given the former Brighton coach a five-year contract worth a reported £60million.

Chelsea reportedly went after Sporting’s Ruben Amorim, but received a firm ‘no’ from the Portuguese giants.

Chelsea get their man in Graham Potter

In Potter, they are getting one of England’s most exciting coaches.

His managerial experience began out in Sweden, where he led Ostersunds to the league title in 2017.

From there, he returned to England with Swansea, before getting the Brighton job.

And from there, Potter’s stock has continued to rise. The move to Stamford Bridge is a big one – and a big risk at that – for the 47-year-old, but Chelsea certainly have faith in him.

After all the talk about the bright ideas Potter has to offer in the Premier League, it is time for him to prove it in the deep end.

Brighton let him have free reins, as he left them in their highest-ever position in the football league – fourth in the Premier League.

But fourth in the Premier League is a pre-requisite at the least, if not an underachievement, for a Chelsea manager.

As such, the expectation is clear to see for Potter.

All that is without mentioning Chelsea’s Champions League campaign. An inquest needs to be held about the defeat to Dinamo on Tuesday and a big fix is needed against RB Salzburg.

Potter knows what he is getting himself in for, but he clearly thinks he can cement his current rise with the move to west London.